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After a good, long run, we have decided to close our forums in an effort to refocus attention to other sections of the site. Fortunately for you all, we're living in a time where discussion of a favorite topic now has a lot of homes. So we encourage you all to bring your ravenous love for discussion to Chuck's official Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram. And, as always, you can still post comments on all News updates. Thank you for your loyalty and passion over the years. These changes will happen June 1.

So we have a lot of great parents here in "The Cult" and some soon to be new parents. I think this would be a good place to put all of our advice, methods, tips, tricks, and just overall baby/kid convo here. This way we have a consolidated place for all the parenting/baby talk and since I think that sometimes we(me mostly)carry this on in other forums maybe a little bit much.

Here are some things that I have learned that made life much easier and saved me some $$ with the babies.

1. Hyland's Teething Tablets. - Homeopathic way to relieve teething issues with babies. With Emma we didn't need anything, nothing seemed to bother her at all. However Zoe is another story, once we discovered these they helped quite a bit. Some reviews will say they are not save because some of the natural ingredients, however this is false as I have researched this thoroughly and they are quite safe.

2. Cloth Diapers - The new age of these are actually pretty nice. Fuzzy Buns are the best IMO and they were designed and made by a mother in the US, her designs got stolen by a factory in Chine and they made knock offs totally screwing her. These look nice, are really absorbent and easy to clean. For all the literal shit you just get these sheets you put in the diaper and they catch it all and are flush-able. We still did use disposables at night, usually Baby-R-Us brand premium diapers. This saves you a ton of $$ in the long run.

3. Playdates - find a local Meetup/Facebook group of Moms/Parents for meetups and playdates. We have met a lot of cool people this way and Emma is super social and have friends she plays with regularly with that all live close by. Once you get to know/like them they are a great resource for new ideas and assistance when needed.

I'm sure these is more but I can't really think of it all right now. Let me know what you peeps think.

i used cloth diaper on my first son. after i accidentally piereced his belly i quit immediately. he is 19 yrs old now, and we currently use Tena which are much better than the walmart brand of adult incontinent products aptly branded Assurance.

i used cloth diaper on my first son. after i accidentally piereced his belly i quit immediately. he is 19 yrs old now, and we currently use Tena which are much better than the walmart brand of adult incontinent products aptly branded Assurance.

parenting is the hardest thing ever. so far.

The cloth diapers we use are button snaps and fully adjustable for all stages. They can use the same diapers from newborn to toddler age. No pins needed, they are really easy to clean. You just take out the inserts that absorb the liquids and toss them in the washer.

Also I wanted to post something kind of personal. A good friend of mine's son has CF(Cystic Fibrosis)this disease kind of robs him of his precious time being a kid. So my friend invented this cool backpack that allows his son to do his treatments literally on the go anywhere giving him the same freedom other kids his age have had. Now he wants to get funding to make more of these for other kids with this condition. I'm not really telling you to donate or asking you to, I'm just throwing it out there to check out and maybe discuss. And if you know anyone who has a kid that may benefit from one maybe get them in touch with my buddy.

As most of you know I have a one year old babygirl and another on the way, due in July.

I think Pepper's advice of forgetting everything you think you know is pretty true.
Unfortunatly I got pregnant again too quickly to try out the wine and dye theory too!

I had so many expectations of myself as a mother I just felt like a total failure the first few months of Lucy's life and I didn't really enjoy being a new mum at all. And's it's all I'd ever wanted for years.

My advice for new mums/dads would be accept any offers of help. Especially cooked meals. Those are a lifesaver!

i used cloth diaper on my first son. after i accidentally piereced his belly i quit immediately. he is 19 yrs old now, and we currently use Tena which are much better than the walmart brand of adult incontinent products aptly branded Assurance.

parenting is the hardest thing ever. so far.

The cloth diapers we use are button snaps and fully adjustable for all stages. They can use the same diapers from newborn to toddler age. No pins needed, they are really easy to clean. You just take out the inserts that absorb the liquids and toss them in the washer.

I think he was failing at making a joke. Though I'm guessing he probably also doesn't know how fancy cloth diapers have gotten these days.

i used cloth diaper on my first son. after i accidentally piereced his belly i quit immediately. he is 19 yrs old now, and we currently use Tena which are much better than the walmart brand of adult incontinent products aptly branded Assurance.

parenting is the hardest thing ever. so far.

The cloth diapers we use are button snaps and fully adjustable for all stages. They can use the same diapers from newborn to toddler age. No pins needed, they are really easy to clean. You just take out the inserts that absorb the liquids and toss them in the washer.

I think he was failing at making a joke. Though I'm guessing he probably also doesn't know how fancy cloth diapers have gotten these days.

probably they had cloth diapers at the time that were pinless, but i turned 17 on 7/6 and had him a month later. meaning i didn't really have much money. how lucky was i to have what i even had? very. i still have the pins. they are very cute. little yellow bears with red bow ties on them. i ended up using the diapers for burp rags.

about the backpack, that is a great idea. i had a mentor-like lady who also has CF. she has a son who must be in his early 20s by now.

Remember when they used to have diaper cleaning services? The truck would drive up to your door, or you could drop them off.
I used cloth diapers on my first kid. That was a nightmare to me. To each his own.

Both my kids did that for a spell--that is an awful sound--but they stopped on their own. But I have a friend in his thirties who still does it and broke two molars.
That really wasn't advice.
I guess my point is you can't control it.

There's not much to do about grinding. The only option is a night guard really and those aren't very comfortable or safe for children. They can cause you to gag or choke and are sometimes more uncomfortable while sleeping. Lucy probably started grinding because she was extremely stressed/tired from being ill. Try giving her chamomile tea in a bottle or lavender baths basically anything to soothe/relax her before bed.

I usually only grind my teeth when I'm super stressed and if I notice that my jaw is tense before bed I massage it and try to keep it as slack as possible before falling asleep. I notice the difference when I wake up.

I didn't grind my teeth but i clenched my jaw a lot. I still do. When i catch myself doing it, i'll relax my jaw for a minute or two, even opening my mouth and leaving it open. I used a nightguard for a while and it helped alleviate it a little bit but they are pretty uncomfortable. I was clenching so bad that it was causing neck pains that would sometimes shoot all the way down my shoulder and back. Really intense pain.

I think the grinding will pass, its just because they are still teething and it feels good to them.

I would also like to point out the importance of playdates and local parenting groups on Facebook and Meetup.com. Without those we would really have no friends with the same age kids as us and no one to watch the kids on occasion. It comes in handy. Also the kids socializing is important I think. They can learn a lot off each-other.

I think parenting has gotten a lot easier from the time our son was born. there's a lot of resources for information, methods, community groups, etc.

It's not as isolating experience as it was for us at the beginning of our journey as parents. The main thing for me the last few years is all about planning ahead, it's easy to get lost in the day to day, but I am always thinking about the next 2-3 years and how to prepare for them.

That turned things around from reacting to all the changes between development stages, to steering things in a specific direction.

I love when the guy takes part in the baby shower. It's his baby too! Be excited!

I had to go to the wife's side of the famly's baby shower for my son--I was clear to go to the movies during the event until my brother-in-law threw a hissy fit because he wasn't invited.

After about an hour of nonsensical small talk, I managed to get locked downstairs in the furnished basement and commenced to watch baseball on television.

My brother-in-law, upon finding me, asked what I was doing. I stated, "I was locked down here. I figured that sooner or later someone would find me."

Upon returning upstairs, my brother-in-law incredulously stated to my wife, "He was locked downstairs... he could've knocked on the door."

My sister-in-law added, "He could've went through the garage (which has an entrance to the basement) and come around to the front door."

My wife replied, "Um, I think he wanted to be down there."

I was, again, relinquished to meandering prattle for another hour.

Yeah, good times.

I agree that the father should be involved with his baby but, in this case, this day is for the mother. And, after carrying the baby for eight months, rightfully so. She should be the center of attention.

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